MS Dhoni’s iconic No.7 jersey officially retired

MS Dhoni (Pic: AFP)

The BCCI has decided to 'retire' World Cup winning captain MS Dhoni's jersey to honour his rich contribution to Indian cricket.

The iconic India captain last played for the country in the 2019 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand. He announced his retirement on August 15, 2020 and no other player has worn the No.7 shirt since then.

Even the great Sachin Tendulkar's No.10 has not been worn any other player since his retirement in 2013 except pacer Shardul Thakur, who had opted for No.10 on his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in 2017 but was trolled heavily on social media. No one since then has played with a jersey with number 10 written on the back.

MS Dhoni's jersey no longer up for grabs

According to BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla, the Board took the decision on Thursday.

"He is a legendary player. His contribution to Indian as well as world cricket is immense. To honour his contribution, the decision to retire number seven has been taken by the BCCI," Shukla told PTI.

Retiring jerseys of the greats is a phenomenon in another sports too. The Chicago Bulls retired the No.23 jersey worn by basketball legend Michael Jordan following his retirement.

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India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, whose international career coincided with Dhoni's, was among the first ones to demand for the No.7 jersey to be retired after the World Cup winning captain's retirement in 2020. Both Karthik and Dhoni happened to play in that ill-fated World Cup semifinal against New Zealand.

"Hope the BCCI retires the No.7 jersey in white ball cricket," Karthik had posted back then.

"Mahendra Singh Dhoni has earned crores of fans during his career. Be it IPL or Indian Cricket, from 2007 to 2011, from T20 to ODI World Cup to Test Championship, Dhoni made the Indian cricket team the number one team. After watching him, many people took inspiration and started playing cricket. Hopefully, in the future many such players will come who will surpass Dhoni," said Thakur to ANI.

(With agency inputs)